Ethereum Pectra Upgrade: Implications for ETC

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade, activated in early 2025, introduced several significant changes to the EVM. As with previous Ethereum upgrades, the Ethereum Classic community evaluates each component independently to determine which improvements are worth adopting.

## EVM Object Format (EOF)

The most substantial EVM change in Pectra was the introduction of the EVM Object Format — a structured container format for smart contract bytecode:

- **Separation of code and data:** EOF separates executable code from static data within contract bytecode, enabling better analysis and optimization
- **Explicit function definitions:** Contracts declare functions with typed inputs and outputs, enabling static validation before deployment
- **Removal of dynamic jumps:** EOF eliminates JUMP and JUMPI in favor of structured control flow, making bytecode more analyzable and potentially more gas-efficient
- **Versioned bytecode:** EOF containers include a version field, allowing future EVM improvements without breaking existing contracts

EOF is a pure EVM improvement with no dependency on Proof of Stake. It improves the execution environment for smart contracts regardless of the underlying consensus mechanism. This makes it a strong candidate for ETC evaluation.

**Trade-off:** EOF is a complex change that introduces a dual-track execution environment — legacy bytecode and EOF bytecode must both be supported indefinitely. The implementation burden is significant across all client implementations.

## EIP-7702: Account Abstraction

EIP-7702 introduced a new transaction type that allows externally owned accounts (EOAs) to temporarily delegate to smart contract code during a transaction:

- Users can batch multiple operations into a single transaction
- Gas sponsorship becomes possible — a third party can pay gas fees on behalf of a user
- Custom validation logic (multi-sig, social recovery) can be applied to regular accounts

Account abstraction improves user experience significantly, particularly for onboarding new users who may not hold native tokens for gas. This is a chain-agnostic improvement applicable to any EVM network.

## What ETC Evaluates

For each Pectra component, ETC's evaluation criteria remain consistent:

| Component | PoS Dependency | EVM Improvement | ETC Relevance |
|-----------|---------------|-----------------|---------------|
| EOF | None | Yes — structured bytecode | High — improves contract analysis |
| EIP-7702 | None | Yes — account abstraction | High — improves UX |
| Blob throughput increases | PoS/L2 specific | No | Low — ETC is standalone L1 |
| Validator changes | PoS specific | No | None |

## Protocol Stewardship

ETC's approach to upstream monitoring reflects active protocol stewardship. Rather than either blindly adopting or ignoring Ethereum improvements, the community evaluates each change on its technical merits and compatibility with ETC's design principles. Changes that improve the EVM execution environment benefit all EVM users and are prioritized for adoption. Changes tied to PoS consensus or L2 infrastructure are documented but not adopted.

This ongoing evaluation ensures ETC remains a modern, capable EVM platform while maintaining its distinct identity as a Proof of Work chain with an immutable ledger.